So, anything that avoids a conflict that could draw in, unhappily again, outside powers such as the United States or revisit, for example, Japan's interests in the Taiwan area would be the last thing that anyone would want.
More Quotes by William C. Kirby
You could argue that war is always an irrational act, and yet many states enter into military conflict out of rational calculation or national interest or the stability or longevity of their regime.
The greater concerns in China and Taiwan are on the political side, not on the economic side.
A war in the Taiwan Strait would destroy China's international relations overnight. It would destroy Chinese - Japanese relations, not to mention Chinese - American relations.
Now, I believe that war is never inevitable until it starts, but there has been a great proclivity in human history, and including in recent history, for war.
I don't believe that economic and cultural interaction automatically brings greater peace and understanding, although it may help in that regard.
There is no question that Taiwan is a state in any political science definition of a state.